A Street Journalist is live-blogging Iran:
Foreign journalists who had traveled to Tehran to cover the 22 Bahman event were directly taken to Azadi Sq. by buses this morning and were not given the opportunity to cover people’s protests in the surrounding areas. Reporters had previously been warned that they could only cover Ahmadinejad’s speech.
Radio Zamaneh reports:
An eyewitness told Radio Zamaneh that in Aryashar, in the west of Tehran, protesters are being beaten up by government forces. Anti-riot police have used electric batons to disperse the crowds and some protesters have been sighted with blood on their faces. Nedaye Sabz Azadi also reports of shootings in that area as well as altercations in Vanak Square in the north.
(Image from here)
How Big Was the Security Presence to Prevent a March In Tehran? Have a look at the picture [above] from Sadeghiyeh Square, which was to be the start point for a move on Azadi Square and which was where Mehdi Karroubi was turned back.
Tara Mahtafar and Roshanak Taghavi offered some ominous observations last night:
We were able to find only two videos of tonight's "Allahu Akbar" chants. Usually there are easily a dozen, and typically more, videos posted on YouTube. One well-known Iranian blogger now living outside of Iran said in a Skype interview that the lack of information is "very disheartening" and could indicate a major decline in the flow of information tomorrow compared with previous protest days. "Based on the trend of blocking messengers and emails in the last couple days, I'm afraid that on 22 Bahman the internet might go into total lockdown," the blogger said.
On the other hand, the Guardian – which is doing some great live-blogging – reports that the opposition movement is trying to coordinate a major rally in central Tehran at 4 pm (7.30 am EST).
In this video people chant “Basiji Vahshee Shodeh!” or “The Basiji’s have gone wild.” Sheer anarchy is loosed. People strongly chant “Marg Bar Diktator!” or “Death to the Dictator”. People can be heard screaming in fear and confusion as what sounds like possibly gunshots being fired nearby.
More tense footage after the jump:
INN again:
A protester shouts, “Basijis are attacking!” then after a few choice curses against them you hear “Marg Bar Khamenei!” or “Down With Khamenei!”, formerly very taboo, but now common-place to target the regime leader in chants.
IranNewsNow notes:
This one shows plainclothed Basiji thugs (pro-government vigilantes) on motorcycles, often doubled-up (guess the regime can’t afford a bike for each one). If you pause the video at exactly 10 seconds in, you’ll see what looks like a couple of masked goons. In the past, the this has been a hallmark of the Hezbullah goons. They are often involved some of the most brutal attacks. I have witnessed several videos in which they are savagely attacking people with knives and batons.
NIAC's live-blog is up and running. Their first entry takes note of yesterday's crackdown:
It is no surprise that Gmail is being targeted–given Google’s recent actions regarding government censorship in China, as well as the fact that Gmail has widely been regarded as one of the more secure email services available to the public. Iranian human rights defenders and activists among the One Million Signatures women’s rights campaign often encourage each other to utilize Gmail, instead of Yahoo or other email services, due to the level of security it offers.
(Image via Masoud)
According to IranNewsNow:
Reports of many injuries in Esfahan.
As the videos start streaming in, there are reports of clashes in several cities: Tehran, Mashad, Esfahan.
Large crowd chanting loudly, suddenly chaos ensues
More breaking developments via EA:
1005 GMT: North Tehran is the scene of “sporadic and at times heavy” clashes, especially at Vanak Square. That is notable, since Vanak had been relatively free of clashes in demonstrations in November and December, including Ashura.
1000 GMT: Farda News is reporting that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani participated in the rally today at Enghelab and Palestine Streets.
0940 GMT: The mainstream site Mardomak is calling the security forces on Tehran’s streets “akin to a military regime”.
IranNewsNow is doing the best job of compiling clips:
First video showing pro-government rallies. Loud speakers bellow “Allah-o-Akbar” and other Arabic phrases. A scattering of government supporters chime in.
Al Jazeera questions Ahmadi's big announcement today:
John Large, a independent nuclear engineer, said that it was simply not possible for Tehran to have completed the 20 per cent enrichment of any of its stockpile in such a limited time. "Even to produce tiny amounts, representative amounts, of uranium enriched to 20 per cent would be an impossible task," he told Al Jazeera from London. […] A nuclear bomb requires uranium of about 90 per cent purity, but nuclear experts say getting to 20 per cent is a big step because low-level enrichment is the most time-consuming and difficult stage of the process.
Despite restrictions on internet and communications video has emerged purporting to showing opposition supporters gathering at a square, chanting "Referendum! Referendum! This is the slogan of the people."
This unconfirmed clip of marching in the streets has only three views so far:
Another clip – of chanting in the metro – here. You can track fresh footage as it lands on Youtube here.
The Dish 